As of September 2007, Nintendo has sold over 13 million Wii game consoles. This significantly exceeds the number of Tablet PCs in use today according to even the most generous estimates of Tablet PC sales making the Wii remote one of the most common computer input devices in the world. It also happens to be one of the most sophisticated containing a 1024x768 infrared camera with built-in hardware blob tracking of up to 4 points at 100Hz. This significantly outperforms any PC webcam available today. It also contains a +/-3g 8-bit 3-axis accelerometer also operating at 100Hz and an expandsion port for even more capability.
Bearing all this mind, it is of no surprise that the Wii remote is an area ripe for research other than gaming. One of the most interesting mini projects I've seen so far is the following which couples the innovative device with Virtual Earth.
Virtual Earth is the 3D interface to Microsoft's Live Maps service. Normally this control is loaded via the web browser and allows interaction with a keyboard, mouse, and Xbox 360 controller. In the video above, the Virtual Earth control is taken out of the web browser, used in a WinForms application and controlled with a Nintendo Wii Remote (Wiimote). The results are in my opinion fascinating.
For a technical breakdown of the project check the following link http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/2007/10/18/5506286.aspx.
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